The Pilgrim in White
by Joryn282
Summary: This is a character prequel for Vala'Sun vas Black Widow from my Black Widow story. It's written for a contest run by the Afterlife Forum. Vala is just starting her pilgrimage. She has a unique opportunity to plan where she is going, however, her choice is one of the more hostile planets in the galaxy, Noveria. This version is complete. There's a new better version on the way.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Goodbyes**

**2183 – Attican Beta – Quarian Flotilla – Cruiser **_**Tikkun**_**:**

Vala'Sun nar Tikkun rushed through the cramped corridors of her birth ship, trying to get to her ceremony through the crowds of quarians gathered in the common area.

"Keelah, Vala! Run, girl!" Zeto, another pilgrim, yelled as she ran past him.

Zeto'Shar, the ship's captain's son, just had his own ceremony, which she attended. There were so many people there she had a difficult time navigating her way out.

_Glad there won't be this many people at mine_, she thought.

Hers would be a small ceremony with a few of her friends and family and held in a smaller common area of the ancient ship she'd called home for the last twenty-one years. She finally pushed through the end of the crowd and moved more swiftly through the colorful corridors of quarian homes, her vision bathed with red, purples and greens of sheets that covered doorways of the small homes quarians lived in. Her own suit blended well with all the colors, the yellow and white reflected every once in a while off the reflective surface of a bare, polished wall; something rare to find on a quarian ship.

After rushing down two more corridors she finally made it to the small common area where her ceremony would be held. Her family was already there waiting for her. Her mother and father stood on a small platform with her brother, Penn, and future sister-in-law, Kara. Her mother and father wore enviro-suits similar in color to hers. Penn changed his enviro-suit after his pilgrimage to a dark blue suit given to him by the captain of the _Defrahnz_, and Kara, who went on her pilgrimage at the same time, now wore a dark red suit. It was a nice contrast.

A fifth figure stood with them on the stage, an unexpected guest that gave her pause before she joined her family.

_Admiral Xen? What is she doing here?"_

The black-suited admiral stood imperiously over her with her arms crossed over her belly.

"Glad to see you made it on time for your own ceremony … barely," Admiral Xen said, sarcasm dripping with every word.

Vala stuttered, not sure how to respond to the admiral. Fortunately, the captain of the _Tikkun_, Captain Ket'Shar vas Tikkun, entered the room, followed by his son, and greeted Admiral Xen as he gestured for Vala to join him on the stage. A few other quarians entered the room, stragglers from her friend's ceremony no doubt, and once no one else appeared to be coming, the captain started the ceremony.

"Friends and family of the _Tikkun_. I welcome you today to celebrate with us the beginning of Vala'Sun nar Tikkun's pilgrimage. As she grew, she proved herself to be a valuable member of this old and storied ship, and we'll miss her dearly. We all on the _Tikkun_ want to wish you luck and the ancestors be with you on your pilgrimage, Vala'Sun nar Tikkun. Keelah se'lai."

"Keelah se'lai!" the quarians in the room echoed.

The blessing part of the ceremony finished and Captain Shar hugged her and whispered, "Good luck, Vala. The _Tikkun_ won't be the same without you." He let her go and gestured to the rear of the room where a few boxes sat on a bench. "Now, for your pilgrimage gifts."

Before they could head to the bench, Admiral Xen stopped them.

"Once you're done with all this …" she looked around at the crowd. "… sentimentality, I need to speak to you alone, Vala. I'll meet you by the scout ship that will start you on your pilgrimage."

The admiral rushed out of the common area, probably wanting to get away from the small crowd of people; Vala honestly felt the same way as the captain and her father escorted her through the group. She didn't like being the center of attention.

As they walked, the captain asked her, "Are you sure you want to go to her ship? She's … harsh."

"She's also a respected scientist, with a reputation even outside of the flotilla," Vala responded as they approached the bench. "I want to be a part of R&D, I think I can do good things there."

Her father, Kel, chimed in then. "You can do amazing things wherever you are, Vala."

Her father worried about the endeavor she was undertaking. He'd already told her that Noveria is a hostile place, not just to quarians, but to anything stepping outside into the cold. That's still where she decided to go.

"Well, since you insist on Noveria, and I can't do anything to stop you, I procured this for you, with the help of Captain Shar," her father said, presenting her with a case used to house enviro-suits.

She opened the case to find a white enviro-suit, and just with a cursory glance she could tell it was different. The suit was thicker than normal enviro-suits, even the hood. It was insulated to help trap heat around the body during operations in extreme cold. The environmental systems were also more robust; meant for extreme conditions. She saw her reflection in the silver colored, mirrored mask of the suit while she ran her hand across the smooth surface. Multiple pockets lined the legs, arms and breasts of the suit, providing places for her to put tools, as well as white pouches on the belt. Unlike most quarian enviro-suits, there were no adornments or embroidery.

"Sure is very white," she said.

Her father chuckled at her obvious statement.

"It's meant to blend in on someplace like Noveria. There aren't many places that welcome us, so sometimes we have to be a little more covert when we need something."

She closed the case and hugged her father.

"Thanks, father! I'll take all the help I can get."

When she let go of her father, her brother draped an arm over her shoulders.

"Then hopefully you like my gift as well," he said.

He grabbed an arm-length box adorned in her favorite colors, black and red, and handed it to her. She opened it, and became a little confused by the crude tool she saw within.

"A shovel?"

She looked at her brother, looking for an explanation for the crude device.

"You're going to be surrounded by snow, Vala. This can be very useful if you ever need to dig yourself, or anything else, out of the snow. It's also long enough to act as a walking aid if you extend the handle." He picked up the shovel, unfolded the blade and pushed a small button on the handle. "It's heated which can help with the snow and ice, and the style of the shovel's blade makes it viable for self-defense."

She'd never seen a shovel that looked like this one; it certainly wasn't of quarian design. Penn seemed to know her question before she even asked it.

"It's a human design called a spade. I saw designs for it and made this one myself for your pilgrimage. Kara added in the heating element and the device on the handle that allows you to attach it to the back of your suit."

She tested it, and the shovel easily latched into place on her back, with the handle of the shovel sticking up over her shoulder, making it easy for her to grab it. She placed the shovel back in the box. Though she still couldn't see a use for it that some heat from her omni-tool couldn't do more efficiently, her brother and his future mate put a lot of work into it.

_Who knows, maybe I'll find it more useful once I'm out there._

She hugged her brother and Kara and said, "I'll make good use of it."

There were a few more packages, all of them containing various supplies to help her: some large capacity sacks for carrying things with her, a lot of rations as there may not be very much for quarians on Noveria, and even a bottle of dextro rum.

"Ugh! Really, Zeto?" she said, shaking her head.

"What? It will warm you up after a long day's work out in the cold," the captain's son explained.

She laughed and put the bottle back in its box.

"I gave you an omni-tool and you give me alcohol." She shook her head again. "I'm going to miss you, Zeto."

She hugged the young quarian for his gift and then looked at Captain Shar. It was the last one on the bench.

"You better go get ready, Vala. Admiral Xen and the scout ship, _Kendora,_ are waiting for you in the docking area," Captain Shar told her.

The small crowd dispersed as the captain announced the ceremony was over. Her family helped her gather up the gifts and led her to one of the few clean rooms on the ship. She found out it was reserved by Captain Shar for her to use to change into the thick enviro-suit.

It was a long process. There were two parts to the clean room: the decontamination room and the main room itself. First she put her new suit in a machine in the that would decontaminate it both inside and out. The suit would wait for her on the other side of the door. Next, the room was filled with detergents that killed any bacteria, viruses, and parasites that might be on the outside of her suit. She lifted her arms and feet to help the detergents cover her suit. Once the spray finished, a hermetically sealed door opened, letting her into the main room.

The main room was white, just like the decon room, but it also had furniture that provided some color to the room: a black wooden table and chairs, and even a bed, though the bed was bare at the moment. She headed for the steel-colored decon machine and grabbed the white enviro-suit out of it. The suit had more weight to it than a normal enviro-suit, thanks to the insulation and robustness of the equipment attached to it. She grunted from the surprising weight as she hung the suit from a nearby hook.

"Ugh. This should be fun to wear," she said as she started to unbuckle her own suit.

She unbuckled each belt quickly as she was anxious to get out of it. She didn't get to be out of her suit often, so she looked forward to every opportunity she got to step out of the suit for any period of time. After the last buckle she worked a seal found underneath her helmet. Once the seal released, she was able to peel the suit off, which she placed in the decon machine and she would grab it again on her way out. She lifted off her helmet and placed it in the machine as well, and turned it on.

Cool air graced her pale gray skin, making her shiver and cross her arms over her chest. Little bumps formed on her skin in response to the slight chill. She walked over to a mirror on the other side of the room so she could look over herself before she put on the bulky enviro-suit. Glowing blue eyes looked back at her from the mirror. Her short, black hair was matted against her head. She ran her hands through the oily helmet hair and decided she should take a quick shower in the small shower provided in the clean room. She made sure to keep her shower short since people were waiting for her. The warm water felt good as it splashed over her, making her skin less bumpy. After a couple of minutes she turned the shower off and went back to the mirror while drying herself off.

"That's better, not that anyone will see it," she said while straightening the two-inch long strands of hair to make it neat, even though it would soon disappear into a helmet.

She looked mournfully at her image in the mirror, running a finger along a thin, black filament just above her navel, and thought about why she wanted to go to the science ship, _Moreh._

"I promise, I'll figure out how to get us out of those damn suits," she whispered, looking at the enviro-suit on the far wall in the reflection.

She sighed and headed over to the heavy white enviro-suit and pulled it down from the hook with a grunt.

"Keelah!"

She glanced at the mirror again, looking over her bare body head to toe.

"I better have the body of a goddess by the time I get back from Noveria," she said as she pulled one of the legs of the suit on.

The soft, smooth cloth on the inside of the suit caressed her skin as it molded around the curves of her body. It took a few moments to get her body inside the suit, and the helmet attached and sealed, but once she did, she headed one more time to the mirror in the room. She felt a lot more sluggish in the suit with its extra weight and thickness. She looked herself over, noting that despite the thickness provided by the insulation, it didn't make her look much bigger than in a regular enviro-suit.

"I guess I'll just need to get used to the extra weight."

She left the clean room, making sure to grab her old enviro-suit on the way out. Her father met her outside and took the enviro-suit from her and handed her the gifts, now stuffed in the sacks she'd been given. The two large sacks had shoulder straps that she draped over each shoulder, so she had a sack hanging from each side. Her father took the shovel, now in its most compact form, and latched it to the apparatus on her back.

"I would feel better if you had a rifle or shotgun as well," he said once he finished.

She shook her head in response and explained, "I did my research. They don't let anyone in with firearms, and don't have anywhere else to keep it. I'll have to make due without.

He nodded and sighed.

"I just wish you weren't going there by yourself. Make sure you send us a message every day please."

She took her father's hand and said, "I will."

Her father's hand took away some of the nervousness she was feeling. He squeezed her hand, it's strength bringing her back to her childhood when he would take her on walks around the ship. It dawned on her then that she really would be alone. No one she could turn to if she needed advice, or just someone to talk to. She squeezed his hand all the tighter at the thought.

After walking through the colorful corridors of the ship for several minutes in silence, they made it to the docking bay. Admiral Xen waited impatiently by the docking tube connected to her shuttle.

"I need to go talk to her," she said, dropping her father's hand.

The admiral saw her approach and unfolded her arms, standing straighter and more domineering. Before, in the crowd of people, she didn't really notice it, but now, without the crowd, Admiral Xen looked a lot more intimidating. Vala wrung her hands as she came to a halt in front of the admiral.

"Took you long enough, child," Admiral Xen said condescendingly. The admiral circled around Vala, almost as if sizing her up. "It's no secret that you want to join my ship, so I've done some research on you, which is why I'm here." She stopped in front of Vala, once again folding her arms around her stomach with her hip cocked to one side. "You show promise. No doubt your skills have been honed keeping this ancient ship running." She reached out, grabbing a loose string on the hood of Vala's enviro suit, and tugging on it, which startled Vala and made her jump. "However, promise alone can't get you on my ship. It's small so I don't have the luxury to just take every pilgrim that comes to me with a gift. I. Expect. Results," she emphasized, hitting the point home. "Your ambitious plan to find destroyed geth on Noveria is a good start, but if you can't bring something back substantial that can benefit the research done on the _Moreh_, I'm afraid I can't afford to have you on my ship."

Vala shifted nervously from one foot to the other, feeling like she was being lectured for doing something wrong. She understood now why Captain Shar said Admiral Xen was harsh. The admiral, though, surprised her then, pulling something out of a pouch on her thigh and handing it to her. Vala stared at the small device, an omni-tool, unable to form a coherent thought.

"Take it, child, it's your pilgrimage gift," the admiral commanded.

Vala took the small device and looked at it in the palm of her hand.

"I don't even … you didn't have to …" she said, unable to form a coherent sentence.

Admiral Xen cut her off, raising a hand and shaking her head.

"I don't want your sentiment. I wouldn't be here if I didn't want to see you succeed. If you come back with any substantial data, both you and that data will be a boon to the _Moreh_," she explained. "This omni-tool is specifically designed to hack geth programs and gives you a better chance of extracting information from their data cores."

Admiral Xen headed to her shuttle, but turned to regard Vala, who still stared at her with the small, disc-shaped device cupped in her hand.

"Go now, Vala. Your pilgrimage awaits."

Admiral Xen disappeared into her shuttle, which powered up as soon as the doors closed. She stared at the omni-tool again, still trying to get over the admiral's unexpected generosity. A gentle squeeze on her arm broke her out of the trance she was in, and she turned to see her family beside her. Her father let go of her arm.

"Are you all right?" he asked, almost in a whisper.

"I … I … she …" Vala stuttered.

She composed herself and put the small device in one of the breast pockets on her suit.

"I'm fine. The admiral was very generous," she said.

She looked at the scout ship, which started up its ancient, refurbished mass effect engines. She had to go soon. Her father hugged her.

"I love you, my little heart. You've made me so proud," he said.

"Me, too," her mother said and embraced her with her father.

Penn and Kara joined in, making it a family group hug. Tears welled up and streamed down her cheeks.

"I'm going to miss you." She sniffed and didn't want to let them go. "I'll write you all every day."

"Hey, Vala!" one of the members of the _Kendora_ called for her attention. "We have to go!"

She reluctantly broke her family's embrace backed away from them toward the scout ship, waving at them. She saw Captain Shar and Zeto in the entryway to the shuttle bay and waved at them as well.

After waving to her family and friends for a few more moments, she turned around and ran to the scout ship. A red-suited male quarian helped her into the ship and shut the door. She took a seat and strapped herself in. She looked around, recalling all the times she helped work on this very scout ship, the memories bringing even more tears to her eyes.

_Get it out of your system now, Vala. Noveria won't tolerate weakness._

It would be a few hours before they got to her first stop, the human colony of Terra Nova. There, she would find a ship heading to Noveria. Since she had enough time, she pulled out the omni-tool that Admiral Xen gave her and started syncing it to her suit.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Into the White**

**2183 – Noveria - Port Hanshan:**

Vala carried a small container of goods off of the human freighter, _MSV Iliad,_ and placed it on the bed of a small truck that would take the freight into Port Hanshan, and from there to the various labs outside.

She looked at the Kowloon-class ship she'd toiled on for the last few days. She offered to work for them for a trip to Noveria, which they accepted. It involved helping around in the engine room and helping them unload their freight at the different locations they stopped at on the way.

"Could use a few of you in the flotilla," she said to the ship while leaning against a railing, waiting for the captain.

Even though she didn't ask for it, the captain offered to help her get into Port Hanshan itself. He warned her at the beginning of their trip that the authorities might turn her away at the customs checkpoint unless she had someone vouching for or sponsoring her. Even then he couldn't make any promises, only that he'd try.

After a few long moments, Captain Morgan disembarked from the _Iliad. _She held back a giggle as she watched him walk down the docking ramp.

_He still looks so ridiculous with all that white fluff on his face._

The tall, barrel-chested human stopped at the bottom and looked at her. The neatly trimmed, curly white beard covered many of his features but his eyes, which peered at her from under his tanned brow. Despite his age, his bright blue eyes hinted at a sharpness she'd gotten to know the past few days. There was also kindness in those eyes.

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting long, Vala," his baritone voice rumbled.

She picked up her two sacks, resting the straps on her shoulders.

"Of course not, I just finished helping your crew unload the cargo," she said.

The flatbed truck hummed to life, punctuating her claim, and headed for one of the cargo elevators to let it into the rest of the port.

"Good! I was making some final preparations for you to get you inside Port Hanshan." He pulled a data-pad out of his captain's uniform inner pocket and presented it to her. "This is an import/export license in your name. It will allow you to take the goods you have on you into the port, as well as anything you find or buy out of it."

_Why didn't I think of this?_ she thought, placing the license in one of the breast pockets of her suit.

"Thank you Captain, this was more than I expected."

The tall human offered his arm to her, which she accepted, and he walked her over the dock toward the customs booth.

"These past few days I've learned much about you, Vala. You're a hard worker, intelligent, and you are doing this to help your people." He looked over his shoulder toward his ship and continued speaking. "Also, I don't think my ship has ever run this well. I could use a few more like you on the _Iliad_." They were in sight of the customs office and the old captain waved to a turian waiting inside. "You impressed me so much these past few days; I decided to do more than originally planned. You have the license, but I also called an old friend who lives and works here. He's a turian by the name of Lilihierax, though he prefers to be called Li."

She shook a little, her nerves getting the better of her upon hearing that a turian would be helping her. She'd never met one before, but her father, among others, warned her that quarians and turians didn't get along very well. Captain Morgan must have felt her stiffen and tried to reassure her.

"Humans and turians don't always get along very well either. Li, though, he's good people."

They entered a small staging area that held a couple of guards and an attack drone floating menacingly, ready to fire upon anyone who posed a threat. The two guards, a salarian and an asari, paid her little heed as the captain escorted her past them. They approached the customs offices shortly thereafter, and she was scanned by a couple of machines on either side of the entrance. She started to feel nervous again as the light swept over her body. Finally there was a tone and a woman at the counter told them to approach.

"This is all yours, Vala. I'll be nearby talking to Li if there's any trouble," Captain Morgan told her.

She watched the old captain approach the turian, who looked to be just as burly as the human. They shook hands and patted each other on the arms like old friends. She tuned out their conversation as she approached counter, needing to concentrate on the task at hand.

_Keelah, I wish my stomach would stop flipping_ _in circles._

She did her best to keep her composure as she set her bags on the counter and presented her import/export license that also worked as an ID. The customs agent put her bags in a machine.

"According to the manifest presented with your license, all of this is for personal consumption?" the agent asked.

"Yes. It's quarian food and drink for me since I can't eat any of the food here," she answered.

The agent removed the bags from the machine and handed them to Vala.

"Then everything is in order. Please enjoy your stay, Miss Sun."

Vala accepted her bags back and shouldered them as she walked over to Captain Morgan and Li.

"So, all hell breaks loose. This Spectre and his entourage, which also includes a quarian, not only gets former administrator Anoleis fired and arrested, but then fights through geth to get to Peak 15 where he ends up killing a damned asari matriarch!" The steel-colored turian looked at her as she stood next to the captain. Though she had a hard time reading him, this being her first encounter with a turian, his eyes sparkled with amusement as he gossiped with Captain Morgan about recent events. "I gotta tell you, Mark. It's been pretty exciting here recently."

Captain Morgan chuckled and grasped the turian's shoulder. "And it gives you a lot more conversation topics I'm sure, Li." He looked at Vala, and placed a large hand on her shoulder. "Meet Vala'Sun, Li. She's intelligent and a hard worker. Kinda wish I could keep her on the _Iliad_."

The nerves came back, her stomach acting like a quarian toddler rolling around in their enviro-ball.

"Please," she said, looking anywhere but at the two friends. "You're making feel weird."

She looked at the captain and then the turian, both of whom stood at least a head taller than her, if not more.

_I'm surrounded by giants!_ Her stomach felt like it flipped again. _Stop freaking yourself out, Vala! At least they're nice giants._

"Vala, are you okay?" Captain Morgan asked.

She realized she was probably making a fool of herself and quickly fought for composure.

"I'm fine," she said. She looked around, noting how empty the place looked, seeking something to change the conversation.

"Is the rest of the port like this?" she asked, her nerves only calming down a little at the change of subject.

"No," Li answered. "Once inside there'll be a lot more people. This is just a small docking area, which is why you don't see a lot of people here."

Her stomach somersaulted, making her groan.

_Oh yeah, that worked. Good job, Vala._

Thankfully, the captain noticed how uncomfortable she was becoming.

"Well, old friend, I wish I could stay for a drink, but I need to get back to the ship." He faced Vala and adjusted her hood. "Good luck, young lady. When you're done, and if you need a ride, don't hesitate to get a hold of me. I'd be glad to have you back on my ship, even if for just a short time."

"Thanks, Captain Morgan. You'll be the first one I call."

She smiled up to the tall human, and tilted her head, not sure if he'd figured out her body language or not, but hoping the head tilt helped. He smiled back, though that white, bushy beard and shook hands with the turian before headed back to the ship, leaving her with the turian in this strange place.

She bowed her head for a moment, trying to stay calm. She could see Lilihierax shift his weight from one foot to another, she imagined from impatience.

_Captain Morgan said he's a good person. Give him a chance._

"Let's get you to your room, Miss Sun, "Lilihierax said, ending the awkward silence. "Get yourself calmed down for the night and then call me. I'll take you for a tour then and explain how things work around Port Hanshan.

She only nodded, not trusting herself to speak at the moment, her nerves starting to overwhelm her again. She didn't want to see the human go, but also, this place was a lot more unfamiliar to her than even the human ship. Sure, she may have been nervous on the human ship as well, but she got over it quickly, and it wasn't nearly as bad as she felt now.

_Yeah, I think I could definitely use some privacy right now,_ she thought as the turian guided her to a bank of elevators.

* * *

**Noveria – One Week Later**

Vala shivered as she disembarked from the bright orange snow vehicle. Flurries of white snow rode the howling wind that blew all around her, making the cold even more penetrating. Her enviro-suit's heating elements work even harder to fight off frigid wind. Snow crunched with each step as she made her way to her objective.

"Of all the places with geth sightings you could choose, you had to pick the coldest one," she mumbled, scolding herself.

Her new omni-tool beeped as she got closer to the dot that blinked on the holographic display

"Eden Prime, Feros, even a number of planets in the Armstrong Cluster, but no. You picked Noveria," she said.

Another gust hit her, making her flesh crawl from the penetrating cold. Her omni-tool indicated she was on top of the geth technology she sought. She grabbed the small shovel on her back and started clearing away the snow.

_Thank you, Penn. Who knew something so crude would be so useful?_

"Where are you, you little bosh'tet!" she yelled after digging through a couple of feet of snow.

The exertion from digging provided a momentary boost of warmth that helped her dig a little faster. After what felt like several feet of snow she found her quarry: a geth's head lay in pieces, frozen in the snow. She picked up the pieces and stuffed them in the sack she brought with her. She rushed back to her loaned Sno-Trax, throwing the sack into the passenger seat as she got in.

_At least it keeps me warm,_ she thought as she drove the machine toward the next blip on her omni-tool.

The machine was slow, but reliable. She checked her suit's readouts, making sure that everything was still working as it should. The tracked vehicle came to a stop ten meters from the blip of her new target. She finished checking her suit's systems and looked out the window toward the direction indicated by her omni-tool. All she could see out the windows was white. She groaned as she opened the door, getting blasted by the frigid air.

"Admiral Xen better appreciate what I do here," she said as she trudged through the deep snow in the direction of the blip on her omni-tool. "Cause, you know, this wasn't your idea at all, Vala. It wasn't you that said, 'Oh, Noveria! It's so cold and hostile there that there's got to be some geth parts still lying around in the snow.' You and your bright ideas." She reached the indicated spot, her omni-tool beeping wildly until she disabled it, and pulled out her small shovel. "At least you were right."

The only competition she had for the geth parts was a company called Synthetic Insights. They claimed a significant portion of geth salvage, but she was still able to find a few nuggets buried in the snow.

"Awww, bosh'tet!" she cried, only finding a severed geth arm with bullet holes in it.

She stuffed it in her pack anyway, every piece possibly holding something valuable for her to discover. She trudged back to the box-shaped vehicle. Before she got in however, she heard a weird keening sound some distance back from where she just came.

_Sounds like the howl of that nathak animal that Li showed me._

A shiver ran down her spine as she thought about the large, toothy pack hunters of Noveria.

_Now's probably a good time to get back in the vehicle._

She checked the time as soon as she got in. The days on Noveria were very long, so it wasn't easy to tell just by looking outside. Not that the blizzard helped at all either.

"I've been out here for four hours?"

_Li wasn't kidding about time passing quickly out here. I better get back to Hanshan before he decides I'm not coming back and locks the garage._

The thought of Li reminded her she was supposed to give him updates to let him know she was alright.

"Dammit, Vala," she whispered as she opened a messaging program on her omni-tool and found she had several messages from the turian mechanic wondering where she was and if she was all right.

"Sorry, Li," she said while sending him a message saying she was on her way back.

She set Port Hanshan as the destination in her vehicle's navigation, and the HUD lit up, showing her destination eight kilometers away.

"Keelah! I didn't get very far in four hours. Stupid blizzard," she grumbled.

The tracked vehicle made its way through the deep snow of the mountain path with little effort while she used the HUD to keep herself from driving off a cliff. It wasn't fast by any means. Between the slow speed of the Sno-Trax and the winding nature of the snow covered roads, it took her forty-five minutes just to drive the 8 kilometers back to Li's garage. She let him know she was almost there, and bright lights made specifically for visibility in blizzards flashed on ahead of her, showing her the way to the garage door. She aimed the vehicle between the lights, having faith that Li opened the door before she'd get there. A large, dark void appeared before her, and she plowed through, leaving the white-washed, depressing cold of the Noverian mountain paths for a warmer, color-filled garage.

Li scowled at her from a small control room off to the side. She parked her vehicle and started collecting the geth parts she'd salvaged during her excursion. Once the garage doors closed she saw Li storm out of the control room toward her.

"You do remember where you are, right?" the steel-colored turian demanded. "I tried contacting you several times without an answer. I was ready to give up on you, thinking you drove off a cliff or got lost and that I'd find you buried in snow, frozen somewhere!"

She stared at the bag of geth parts she held, not wanting to make eye contact with the angry turian while her face flushed, even though he couldn't see it.

"You sound like my father, Li," she grumbled. "I was only gone about five hours."

"Five hours is too long by yourself in a Noverian blizzard." He took the other bag from the Sno-Trax and started heading for the door, which she hoped was the end of it, but once they both got in the elevator, he continued his tirade. "Speaking of blizzard, couldn't you have waited till it cleared up a bit?"

"Keelah!" she cried, startling the turian with her outburst. "I waited for it to clear for a week! I'll never finish my pilgrimage by waiting for the damned blizzard to end!" She looked at Li, who stared back at her though his eyes were wide with a look of surprise rather than anger now. "Besides, why do you care? You've known me for a week!"

She immediately regretted her words, though, as she watched him look the other way. She could still see his reflection in the glass of the elevator. His mandibles drooped as his gaze fell to the floor. She felt a tear run down her cheek, seeing the old, caring turian so hurt.

"I'm … I'm sorry, Li. That wasn't fair," she apologized. He'd done a lot for her since she got to port Hanshan. A room to stay in, a vehicle to use out in the snow, and many tips, ideas and things to look out for while she was out in the white. I'll be better, I promise.

He stayed silent as they left the elevator and went to her hotel room. It made her feel even more terrible. She'd always heard stories of how turians treated quarians, but Li defied all of them. He'd been kind and generous since she got there, and she yelled at him for worrying about her in a dangerous place. Once they got to the room, he placed the sack filled with geth parts down on the small table found in the middle of the small, square room and turned to leave. She couldn't let him leave like that.

"Stop, Li!" she cried. "I'm sorry, I really am. You've been so helpful; please don't think me ungrateful."

She hugged the large turian, whom she'd started to think of as an uncle in her short time there.

"Please don't be angry."

She let go of Li and backed away, looking at him. He didn't look as hurt as earlier.

"It's all right, kiddo," he said, his deep voice sounding loud in her small hotel room. The door hissed open but before he left he looked back at her. "Just be careful out there and make sure you let me know what's going on when you're out in the cold. That Sno-Trax and your special enviro-suit can't protect you from everything out there." Before the door closed she could hear him mumble, "They shoulda given her a gun."

_I wish I had one too_, she thought.

She'd heard the stories about the nathak that prowled the white, but now, there were also stories of something else out there: something that was even killing the nathak. Li didn't have time to go out with her though, and she couldn't afford protection, so she was stuck going out alone

"No one said my pilgrimage would be glamorous or safe," she mumbled as she slumped down on her bed.

She hung her head, thinking about her outburst earlier. Tears fell on the inside of her visor, but were quickly dried by the systems of her suit. She felt sick to her stomach.

"Heard so much about how badly turians treat quarians, and yet here you are being an ungrateful ass to one who cares enough worry about you." She giggled. "Ass. You've even picked up some of his words."

After a few moments of being curled up on the bed she started to feel a little better. She sighed as she got up from the bed and headed to the table with the bags of geth parts on it. She sorted through the parts for an hour until she concluded they held nothing significant, just a lot of bullet hole riddled scrap. Even the head she found only held a damaged memory module.

"I guess I'll be going back out there," she said. She pulled the shovel from off of her back and looked at it. "At least I have my shovel," she proclaimed. "You nathak better watch out!" She looked at the shovel again, this time laughing to herself. "Keelah, I'm not even drunk. I should go to bed."

She dumped the parts into a metal crate she procured to hold anything she might bring back to the flotilla for Admiral Xen. She pulled a sterilized food tube out of a cupboard in the room's kitchenette and stuck it to the feeding apparatus in her helmet. She sucked down the bland paste while checking her suit's seals and systems again, making sure everything was in working order, and then adjusted the temperature to make sure she was comfortable while she slept. That only did so much though. The suit itself was still uncomfortable thanks to its weight and thickness.

"Ugh, Noveria, I hope you're worth it."

She curled up on the bed again, and after a few moments of berating herself about Li, she finally fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**The Deal from the Doctor**

**Port Hanshan – Next Day:**

"Hello, Vala," Li greeted her when she walked into his office. "Did you sleep well?"

Vala placed her bags and shovel in a corner of the office near the door and sat in a chair across the desk from Li.

"No, I'm not used to these fifty-two hour day cycles this planet has. Makes it hard to sleep."

She looked at the floor, thinking about several hours earlier when she yelled at Li. She still felt guilty about it. Li seemed to know what she was thinking about.

"Don't worry about last night, Vala. I'm sure you were stressed out from being out in the cold for so long."

She relaxed a little, but still felt the need to apologize at least one more time.

"Still, I'm sorry. I was an ass."

Li snorted. "Don't beat yourself up, Vala. That was several hours ago, this is now." He handed her a data-pad. "I'd like you to take a look at the old Grizzly over there." He nodded toward the brown and orange striped tank across the garage from them. "The mechanic that's been working on it has taken too long. The owner is getting pissy."

"I'll get it fixed as soon as possible," she said. She placed the data-pad in one of her hip pockets.

"Also," Li said. "I'd like to talk to you before you go back out there later." He gazed at her before continuing. "I assume you're going back out there. I'm not going to stop you, but, well, we'll talk about it later."

_Huh, I wonder what he wants to talk about? Hopefully not another lecture._

Vala gathered some tools from Li's office and nodded to Li on her way out and headed to the old tank. She ran her hand along the tank's side, feeling its seems and angles.

"Let's see if we can make you better, dear."

**Several hours later:**

Vala got behind the controls of the Grizzly.

"Alright, you big bosh'tet," she whispered. "Work, dammit."

She squealed and bounced in the driver's compartment as the tank growled to life. She brought up the virtual windows and saw that a few of the mechanics watched the tank. Li left his office and approached. He removed the safety clamps from the wheels and motioned for someone to open the garage doors. He got in through the Grizzly's only hatch at the top of the driver's compartment and took a seat behind her in the passenger compartment.

"You fixed it," he said. "You get to test drive it."

She clapped and put the vehicle into drive.

"I get to drive a tank!" she cheered.

The Grizzly lurched forward and left through the garage door, out into the Noverian snow. It moved a lot more easily through the snow than her track machine did.

"Wish I could use this for my pilgrimage," she said as she plowed through a snow drift.

"And I wish I could let you use it," he replied.

The Grizzly plowed through another drift as she followed the navigation HUD that prevented her from going over a cliff or hitting large objects hidden in the snow.

"Just don't get mad at me when it takes me forever to finish my gathering later," she quipped.

"Yeah, yeah. Hey, see those pipes up there? That's a good spot to get turned around so we can head back. In fact, that's where this very tank was salvaged."

She got the large vehicle turned around and headed back to the garage.

"Who salvaged it?" Vala asked.

"Synthetic Insights," he answered.

"Oh." The mention of the company that claimed the geth salvage on the planet sobered her. She worried about the eventuality that she might cross paths with them while she salvaged parts scattered across the Aleutsk Valley.

They got back to the garage after their short trip, and she parked the tank where it would wait for Synthetic Insights to pick it up.

"Good work, they'll be happy to have this. I'm gonna give you some extra credits as well for finishing this."

"You don't have to do that," she said. "You're already paying for my room and letting me use the Sno-Trax."

He chuckled. "SI paid us a lot of money to fix the damn thing. I can afford to pay you for finishing the job." She followed him out of the hatch at the top of the driver's compartment and he helped her down from the tank. "You're done for the day. I still want to talk to you before you leave, though."

Her face heated up, thinking he was going to lecture her about going out. Her stomach tightened as she followed him to his office. She grabbed her shovel and bags and approached his desk, waiting for him to start his lecture. Instead, she was greeted by a long, silver case he placed on his desk. When he opened it she saw a rifle of some sort inside of it.

"This is a Phaeston … it's mine," he informed her. He ran a hand over it; his mandibles twitching with what she imagined were old memories. "I want you to take it with you. It's a damned sight better than a shovel for self defense."

She looked at the rifle for a few moments trying to think of something to say.

"How did you get it in here?" she asked.

He took the rifle and walked around to her back where he attached it to her suit's apparatus on the other side of the shovel.

"The security puts up a good face for the investors and companies on this planet, but when it comes down to it, you can get anything in this port if you know the right people." He chuckled as he handed her some thermal clips. "It helps to be an old hand around here as well. Hanshan security tends to look the other way when it comes to minor infractions on my part."

"Old hat?" she asked, not knowing what he meant by that.

"It's a human phrase I learned from Mark. Means I've been around for a while."

She thought he looked tired as he sat down at his desk. She felt a little sad seeing it. The exhausted look turned to concern and he looked at her.

"This didn't occur to me last night as I thought about loaning you my rifle. You know how to use one, right?" he asked.

"I got some practice on the flotilla, especially before I went on my pilgrimage. I'm no soldier by any means, but I think I can use it just fine."

He looked relieved. "I won't keep you any longer then," he said. "Be careful out there, and please remember to keep me informed on what's going on this time."

"I will. Thanks, Li."

* * *

Vala hummed a popular tune she'd heard in Port Hanshan's lounge as she drove the small tracked vehicle through the snow. The blizzard was less fierce this time, which she was thankful for. Visibility was up and she could see a lot more of the landscape as she drove through mountainous region. The geth part her omni-tool picked up was a lot further from the port than the ones from her previous trip. She'd already driven for two hours before the blip showed up. She'd almost given up for the day, thinking Synthetic Insights already cleaned up the rest. It still took her another half an hour to reach her destination.

The Sno-Trax decelerated once she was within five meters of the object in question.

_Good. Less time trudging through the snow,_ she thought.

She got out of the vehicle, grabbed Li's rifle, and stared at it a moment before she placed it on her back. She grabbed one of her bags, slung it around her shoulder, and grabbed her shovel, extending the handle so she could use it to help her through the snow. She kept the Sno-Trax running and she made her way to the blip on her omni-tool.

_This suit works much better when not having to fight so much wind._

Her hood rustled in the heavy breeze as she crunched through the snow until a steady tone informed her she was almost on top of the geth piece.

_The snow's only up to my knees here, good._

The snow didn't take long for her to dig through and the part, a large piece of circuitry, lay nestled in the snow. She recognized it as the large central cluster that ran through the torso of a geth mobile platform. It transferred data and controlled the motor functions of the platform, much like a spinal cord.

"Ok, so where's the rest of the platform?" she asked. She dug around some but found nothing more at the spot.

"This is really weird." She scanned the part for any abnormalities, but the only thing she found was that it didn't have any wear or damage you might expect from something being out in the snow unprotected for an extended period of time. She whimpered and tightened her grip around the thick, corded circuitry.

_Dammit, this could be valuable. But it's also probably a trap._

She stared at circuitry in her hand before finally throwing it back in the snow and re-burying it.

"Dammit! Bosh'tet!" she yelled, while tossing snow on top of the circuitry. Her voice echoed through the quiet landscape, startling her.

_That was probably a bad idea._

She no sooner thought that when multiple raspy howls answered her from nearby.

_Keelah! That's close!_

She used her extended shovel almost like a pole-vault as she propelled herself back toward the orange Sno-Trax. Her heart raced faster with each leap through the snow. The howling was getting closer; she could even hear yelps not far behind, though she couldn't see them.

_Shit!_

Her vision became more obscured from her heavy breathing, but fortunately the vehicle was high-visibility, and she made it to the Sno-Trax before the animals caught her. She didn't bother to go around to the driver's side. She climbed in through the passenger side and locked the doors as quickly as possible. She barely got herself into the driver's seat before a white, furry, four-legged animal with long teeth burst through the snow from where she just was and headed right for her. The animal stopped short of running into the vehicle, and more burst through the snow and joined the first as it circled her vehicle.

Despite her predicament, she relaxed a little thanks to the Sno-Trax. Li told her the vehicle was reinforced to withstand nathak, which these large-eyed, furry animals no doubt were.

She urged the vehicle forward. Li told her that if she was confronted by a pack of nathak while in the vehicle, she should just start driving. They may chase her for a while, especially since it's slow, but they'll eventually give up once they realize they can't eat it or get to what's inside.

"They don't want to expend too much of their energy out in the cold for nothing," she said sarcastically, recalling what Li told her about the nathak. "Well, they don't seem too worried about it right now."

She counted six nathak running on either side and behind her. Every once in a while one would get brave and nip at one of the vehicle's tracks. She could hear their yelps and howls through the doors.

"Just keep driving, Vala," she said. "They're just predatory pack hunters, no big deal."

She took the rifle off her back and laid it in her lap just in case she'd need to use it. Something started to sound off about the noises they made. They sounded agitated and started to slow down, no longer focused on her.

"Good, they're done chasing me."

She heard a high-pitched, pained squeal, and when she looked behind her through the read window, she saw the mutilated corpse of one of the nathak dragged over the edge of the cliff by some sort of tentacle. Another nathak was covered in dark green slime that burned it and the snow around it. Its pained cries were cut short as some sort of red, carapaced creature climbed over the cliff's edge and stabbed it with one of its tentacles. The other tentacle swayed menacingly above its head. It looked at her slow-moving vehicle before it dragged the corpse away.

_Keelah! What was that!?_

The rest of the nathak ran, their frightened yelps reaching her and not helping her anxiety as the situation veered into the unknown once again.

"Stupid bosh'tet machine! I can get out and run faster than you!"

Her heart raced again. Nathak were one thing. Her vehicle provided protection from them. Whatever that thing was, though, she had no idea if she was safe anymore.

"C'mon, go go go!" she cried, rocking back and forth in her chair.

_Yeah, that'll help._

Her vehicle suddenly grinds and violently vibrates, the screech of metal on metal making her cringe.

"Oh no! No, no, no, no!" she cried. "Oh please! Not now, not now!"

She pounded on the vehicle's control console and tried giving it as much throttle as possible, but to no effect. The Sno-Trax ground to a halt near a rock wall, and smoke rose from the driver's side of the vehicle. She looked out the window to see the track and some of the frame melted from the green slime she saw one of the nathak covered in earlier.

_Acid!? Where did the acid come from?_

She grabbed the rifle in her lap and looked around trying to see if one of those _things_ was the cause of this.

_Please, no! I'm not a threat or food. Please leave me alone._

She yelped when dark green slime impacted the driver's side window.

"No! Go away!" she screamed.

She backed away into the passenger seat, looking behind her to make sure there wasn't anything on that side as well. When she looked back to the driver's side door she panicked. The glass was melting and she could see two tentacles poised beyond it. The glass shattered as a tentacle burst through the window. She opened fire with the Phaeston, hitting the plant-like end of the tentacle that tried to grab her, making drab green goo spray all over the place as the tentacle writhed. Now, whatever it was made a horrific screeching noise that nearly overloaded the audio emulators of her helmet. She dropped the rifle and clutched at the side of her second tentacle grabbed the door of her vehicle and ripped it off, revealing the rest of the creature. She grabbed her rifle and opened fire. The rifle kicked against her already bruised shoulder, until an alarm sounded to tell her it needed a new thermal clip. Her aim was true, and green goo sprayed across the snow behind the creature. With a hiss, the creature fell over into the snow, and steam rose from the hot, green blood splashed across it.

She remained glued to her seat, shaking from the shock of being attacked. Her heart pounded and her visor was fogged from heavy breathing.

_Okay, Vala, the Sno-Trax isn't safe._

She looked around through the windows seeing if anymore was coming for the vehicle. There was nothing there, but she still didn't move.

_But, I really don't want to go out there. Maybe I should call Li first._

Before she could do anything, she heard the screeching again.

"Oh no!" she whispered.

She fumbled with the rifle, getting a new thermal clip put in it and then looked out the window again. Two more of those creatures now ran for her vehicle, and there was a cloud of snow being kicked up back the way she came from.

"Please be help. Please, please, please be help," she whispered.

The creatures ignored the cloud, continuing the run for her vehicle. The first of the two entered her line of fire through the door and she depressed the trigger. The rifle kicked against her sore shoulder, making her wince. The creature dodged her fire and backed away from the Sno-Trax. She heard a wet slap on the door behind her, and when she quickly glanced behind her, she saw more of the dark green slime that weakened her other door.

_Dammit! The other one circled around!_

Before thinking about it, she leapt out of the vehicle, firing in the direction of the one nearest her. She hit it a couple of times, making it lurch, mercifully making a glob of spit it tried to launch at her miss. She fired toward the other one that came around from the other side of her vehicle. She didn't hit it, but it dodged back behind her vehicle, buying her some crucial time to run and put in another thermal clip.

She heard a familiar engine growl get louder and louder, so she spared a look behind her to see the two creatures, plus three more, distracted by a large vehicle barreling down the path toward them. She ran to a nearby wall of rock to get out of the path.

_Please hit them, please hit them, please hit them._

She put her back to the wall and watched the vehicle, which she now recognized as a Grizzly. Her chest heaved as she watched the three new creatures run back down the canyon. The other two couldn't get out of the way fast enough, and shrieked right before the tank crushed them under it's massive wheels. Sickly green blood sprayed across the snow, which steamed from the temporary source of heat.

_Yes! Thank you!_

She sank to the ground, shaking with relief, as the tank pulled up next to her. Two humans in gray armor with assault rifles climbed out of the top of the driver's compartment. One of them ran to her ruined vehicle while the second approached her.

"Come on, lady! Let's get out of here before more of them come," he yelled.

He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to her feet. Instead of protesting she followed the man to the back of the Grizzly where the second human, a woman, met them with Vala's bags and shovel. The man climbed up to the hatch and offered his hand to help her up. She grabbed her shovel and bags from the woman and dropped them down the hatch so she could help the woman up. She heard the screeches again that sent shivers down her spine. She looked behind them and saw at least a dozen of them climb up over the cliff.

"Get in the vehicle!" the man yelled, regaining her attention.

She obeyed, following the woman down the hatch and into the passenger compartment, where they took a seat opposite of each other on the benches. The man entered shortly afterward and took a seat across from her, next to the other woman. After a couple of moments her breathing slowed down, along with her heart, and she started to calm down. Once she finally relaxed, she decided she should say something.

"Thanks for getting me out of there," she said.

"We weren't about to leave you to be ravaged by those crazy bugs. No one deserves that fate," the man stated.

She shivered, thinking about her close encounter with them.

"What were those things? The only wildlife on Noveria I read about were nathak and a few small animals that looked nothing like those."

The two humans looked at each other before the woman spoke up.

"No one knows. There are rumors, but the only person to actually name them is some crazy volus from the Peak 15 research facility. He called them rachni."

Vala gasped. "I learned about those in history classes on the flotilla. They're supposed to be extinct though, right?"

"Right," the man said. "Like she said, the volus is crazy. They didn't show up until after the Peak 15 incident, though, so most people think they're some sort of experiment gone wrong."

"I'd say." She looked around the Grizzly and realized it was the one she finished fixing a few hour earlier. She started to realize who these people who rescued her might be. "So … um … may I ask who you are?"

"Of course," the woman said. "I'm May and my counterpart here is Jeter. We're with Synthetic Insights."

Vala's heart started to pound again. She shifted in her seat nervously and clutched her rifle tighter.

"Don't worry. We know you've been grabbing geth salvage out from under our noses the past couple of days, but if we wanted to hurt you or punish you in any way, we would've taken your rifle. Our boss wants to talk to you."

"Oh, um, okay."

_I don't know if this is such a good idea; not that you have a choice in this case, Vala. Just be careful. Even if they did just save your life and seem really friendly._

"Do you mind if we remove our helmets?" Jeter asked. "We weren't sure how quarians felt about that sort of thing, if removing our helmets would offend you."

"Oh … no it's fine," she said.

The two humans removed their helmets, which actually made her feel a little better, being able to see their faces.

_Huh, I wonder how I seem to them. Am I less trustworthy because they can't see my face?_

May had dark red hair, cream colored skin, and a freckled, narrow face. She smiled at Vala, which set her at ease just a little more.

_Maybe this won't be so bad._

Jeter had darker skin and black hair. His eyes were darker as well. Where May had green eyes, his were a dark brown. He smiled at her as well. And she found him strangely attractive.

_Stop it, Vala! He's not even quarian._

She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts, but when she looked at them again, they still smiled at her, but they looked more confused than friendly.

"Are you all right, Miss?" Jeter asked.

_Keelah! His voice! It's so … deep!_

"Call me Vala; and yes, I'm fine. Just trying to clear my head."

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, but relaxed her grip on her rifle.

"That's understandable, ma'am," May said. "I'm sure this has turned into a crazy day for you."

_Stop talking, May! I want to hear Jeter more._

"Hopefully, things will get much better for you from here on out," Jeter said.

* * *

May and Jeter led her through the Synthetic Insights lab to an elevator on the other side of a vast room filled with desks. Lab technicians were busy working on various tasks, and she was relieved that no one paid her much mind. A couple looked up at her, but they looked more confused by her presence than anything else; especially the asari.

_Those head things are so creepy. What do they do?_

When they reached the elevator, she put it out of her mind. They were heading to the top floor where the head researcher's office resided. When she entered the elevator, she noticed there were six other floors, including the top floor, but all the others had security levels labeled with them. The highest security level was the basement level which was highlighted in bright red.

Her stomach sank as the elevator moved upwards. If that wasn't bad enough, her heart started to pound. The higher the elevator got, the more her heart raced.

_Vala, if you keep this up your heart is going to explode. Relax!_

The elevator stopped and the doors opened up to reveal a small, homey office with a lot of colorful paintings and tapestries featuring landscapes and what she guessed were supposed to be inspirational sayings.

"What does 'seize the day' mean?" she asked.

"It means to make the most of every moment," Jeter answered.

_Hmm, I like it._

At the far end of the room was a door with a plaque that read, "Abhay Malhotra, PHD, Project Lead".

Jeter activated a holographic interface next to the door.

"Doctor Malhotra, it's Jeter. We have the quarian for you."

"Ah! Good! Good!" a male voice with an accent she hadn't heard before replied." Bring her in."

Jeter turned to her before he opened the door.

"I'm afraid we'll need to take your rifle now. It's only temporary."

"Sure, anything for you," Vala said, handing him her rifle.

"What?" he asked.

"What?" Vala asked. She turned to face the door and felt her skin crawl from embarrassment.

_Keelah! What's wrong with you!?_

May snickered and whispered to Jeter as Vala entered the office.

"I think she likes you."

"Shut it, May," Jeter replied. "She's nervous enough the way it is."

_Yeah, bosh'tet! Shut it!_

The door closed behind her, leaving her alone in the office with a dark-skinned man with glasses. The office was bright with large windows that provided a view of the Skaadi Mountains. The view made her gasp. She hadn't seen a view like that since she arrived to Noveria.

_I guess some beauty can be found amongst all the snow._

The man sat behind a glossy, dark-red wooden table. He quickly stood up and rounded the desk to approach her, extending his hand in a greeting that Captain Morgan taught her.

"Hello, Miss …?" he asked, hoping to get her name.

"Um … Vala'Sun nar Tikkun," she replied and shook the man's hand.

The man sat on the edge of his desk and gestured for her to sit in a plush chair near the desk.

"Nice to meet you, Vala. Do you mind if I call you Vala?"

She relaxed and leaned back in the chair, feeling more comfortable than she had since she entered the building.

"Yes, that's fine," she answered him.

"Good! My name is Doctor Abhay Malhotra; but, please, call me Abhay."

"Hello, Abhay."

The friendly man smiled a big, white toothy grin and nodded to her.

"Good! So, Vala, down to business. We here at Synthetic Insights paid a lot of money for the salvage rights of the geth parts, so imagine my surprise when I hear that a quarian is on our little planet, salvaging what geth she can."

He remained calm the entire time he said that, but she couldn't help but start feeling nervous again.

"I'm … I'm sorry," she apologized while wringing her hands together.

"Oh! I'm not mad, Vala. Quite the contrary. When I heard there was a quarian right on our very doorstep, I said to myself, 'I bet this quarian knows a lot more about the geth than anyone else here.'"

She wrung her hands together, nervous on where he was going with the conversation, as he walked back to his own chair. Vala leaned forward, waiting for the doctor to continue.

_You have my attention, human. Come out with it._

"I imagine you must be on your pilgrimage, yes?" he asked.

She looked at him with surprise, tilting her head to the left to help convey it.

"Why, yes. How did you know about that?"

He looked satisfied that he guessed correctly and smiled wildly.

"While studying what we knew about the geth, I decided to do a little research into their creators as well. Anyway, I imagine you are hoping to bring back some sort of information about the geth to bring back to the flotilla. We can help you with that."

She went rigid in her chair and held her breath.

_Is he really going to help me?_

"We have plenty of geth parts here, and we would like your help in studying them. If you help us, then any information we are able to gain will be shared with you to take back to the flotilla."

_This seems too good to be true. _She wrung her hands together, imagining doing all the work and getting nothing for it. _Li said not to trust the companies on this planet._

"You're a company that wants to make a profit. Why would you share information with me like that?" she asked.

The doctor chuckled. "We don't consider the flotilla competition. Your people are the nomads of the galaxy. I find the concept a little romantic, if sad because you lost your home. You don't have many business dealings, though, so anything your people do is for the good of your people, not for profit. I can respect that."

He sobered and got up from his desk. "I know your people have had a hard time in the galaxy, being shunned by the council and unwelcome in most places." He sat on the edge of the desk right in front of her again. "Have you had a hard time here on Noveria?"

She shook her head, remembering all the help she received.

"Actually, my pilgrimage has been mostly easy; aside from scary creatures attacking me that is. I've been waiting for something bad to happen." She laughed remembering a few instances that could be considered hostility from other people. "I mean, there was the hanar merchant who wouldn't let me buy anything from him, and some of the scornful looks I've received from people in Port Hanshan, but other than that I've been pretty lucky so far."

The doctor grinned again. "Good! I'm glad to hear it. Hopefully the rest of your time here will be equally trouble-free." The doctor stood up and offered a hand to her. She took his hand and stood up. "So, what do you say, Vala? Do we have a deal?"

She let go of the doctor's hand and walked over to the picture window, gazing at the mountains.

_They really are beautiful._

She looked at the doctor again, and his shiny white smile.

_Can I really trust him? And even if I could, he has to answer to someone. Can I trust a company?_

She looked back out to the mountains and placed her hands on her hips, cocking them to the side.

_Then again, the offer is enticing. What did that poster in the other room say? Seize the day?_

She smiled and turned back to the doctor, this time tilting her head to the right, a way for her to convey that she was smiling.

_Not that he would know that._

"Okay, Doctor Malhotra. You've got a deal."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: The Persistent Asari**

**Synthetic Insights Lab – Noveria – Five Galactic Days Later:**

_This is it! I finally get to see what they keep in the basement!_ Vala thought. _They've been so secretive about it._

The last four days she'd been working on smaller projects, digging through geth parts, looking for anything that stored data or showed a significant advancement; something both she and Synthetic Insights were interested in. She didn't find much, though, as it turned out, that didn't matter. The whole thing was set up to test her. Dr. Malhotra escorted her personally to the elevator that would take them to the level four security section of the basement.

"I need you to sign this non-disclosure agreement, Vala," Dr. Malhotra told her. "You'll still be able to take information with you that you might learn down there, but please do not share where you got it from. The last thing we need is a Spectre coming to visit us."

She stopped short of the elevator at the doctor's last statement, her eyes going wide.

"Wh … why would you be worried about a Spectre? What do you have down there?" she asked, staring at the elevator.

"I can't say up here, Vala. You don't have to go down there if this makes you uncomfortable," Doctor Malhotra said, putting a hand on her shoulder while he talked to her. "However, you'll be done here and we'll have to send you back to Port Hanshan."

She thought for a moment, trying to weigh her options.

_I could continue collecting useless geth parts and possibly not even find anything worth taking to Admiral Xen. That would mean I'd have to go somewhere else._

She looked at Doctor Malhotra who now watched her through the open door of the elevator, waiting for her to make her decision.

_Or, I could "seize the day" and possibly risk the wrath of a Spectre._ She sighed. _Keelah._

She rushed through the open elevator door and accepted the data-pad from the doctor, reading over it before she signed.

_Never seen one of these before. What does litigation mean?_

She looked the word up on her omni-tool.

_Oh. Never had to worry about this on the flotilla._

She finished reading the non-disclosure agreement, signed it, and handed it back to the doctor as the elevator came to a stop.

"Good. We'll go through a security station first where you'll have to give up your omni-tool for one of our Security Level Four approved ones. They don't leave this floor," he said.

She looked at her own omni-tool as they stepped out the elevator.

"If it's more geth related parts this omni-tool was made specifically for working on their technology," she explained.

"Then emulate its programs to one of ours. There's a reason for the precaution. The omni-tools we use down here have no networking capabilities."

_Probably just a way to keep sensitive information from leaving the floor,_ she thought, despite her suspicion otherwise. _Or they have actual geth down there._

She shivered at the thought of dealing with a live geth as Dr. Malhotra guided her to a work station with a safe on the wall above it. Several serious-looking security officers stalked around the room performing various tasks, while one stared at a video feed she couldn't quite see from her position.

_Doesn't look like Jeter's down here. That's too bad, _she lamented. She hadn't seen him since he drove her to Port Hanshan and back to return Li's rifle and gather her things.

"Use this machine to emulate your omni-tool to one of ours." Doctor Malhotra said, regaining her attention.

She placed her omni-tool on a pad connected to the small machine he indicated while he retrieved one from the safe. He placed it on the machine and entered a key command that started the process.

"Does this do anything with my personal information?" she asked. _The last thing I need is someone reading my messages and journal._

"Only if it's commanded to. I only commanded it to emulate programs, not things stored in its memory," he explained as he handed her the special omni-tool. He placed her omni-tool in the safe. "Let's go, Vala. Time to get to work."

He led her out of the security station. They were scanned as they walked through the door. They entered into a hallway that reminded her of the clean room she changed in on the flotilla.

_So much white. You'd think they'd have enough of it from outside._

They passed by several secure doors on either side of the hallway, the only things indicating they were labs were the numbers on the doors in big red letters. Each door also had its own security pad.

_I wonder what they do in these labs._

"I take it technicians are assigned to specific labs without access to the others?" she asked.

"That's correct. Makes the control of sensitive information easier," Doctor Malhotra answered. "Our destination is at the end of the hall."

At the end of the hall where they approached a vault door set deep within the left wall of the hallway. The door was far more robust than the other lab doors and colored a steel gray with "Containment Lab" stenciled onto the door.

_I have a bad feeling about this._

The doctor placed his hand on the security panel near the door. A device came out of the wall and stopped near his face. He looked into the device and said, "Abhay Malhotra."

_Biometric locks and everything._ She wrung her hands together, her nerves starting to get the better of her.

The door clicked and Doctor Malhotra opened the door, holding it open for her while gesturing for her to go inside. They entered another hallway, this one the same color of the door. They were scanned several more times as they walked down the hallway.

_Keelah, what do they keep down here? A geth or the deadliest prisoner in the galaxy?_

They reached a final door, but it opened automatically for them, letting them enter a rectangular room with big windows. Several lab techs, asari, salarians and humans worked at various stations around the room. Security was heavy in this room. She counted at least six guards in gray armor with strange looking rifles stationed around the room. What she saw through the windows held her attention the most, though.

_I knew it!_ She fiddled with the buckles on her suit as her eyes darted between Doctor Malhotra and the scene through the window.

A circular structure stood in the middle of the room, with some sort of force field around it. Inside the structure a geth platform was restrained, arms and legs spread and attached to various spots around the structure.

She looked at the doctor whose smile could only be described as radiant, and shook her head.

_At least their security measures are heavy._

"I take it there are no network connections anywhere on this floor?" she asked.

"Correct. All data transfer is done through archaic means, using external storage devices that are scanned before they can even leave this lab, and, in some cases, even paper and pens."

_At least that's something._

She stared at the geth through the window. One leg was missing and multiple bullet holes peppered the gray metal bodywork. The geth's head twitched from side to side, like a motor reflex.

"Can it actually see anything?" she asked. "It looks like it hasn't been deactivated."

"While its optics sensors are likely receiving imagery, the intelligence inside, as you probably already know, is quite rudimentary. From what we've been able to determine so far, it can't fully interpret any audio or visual stimuli," Malhotra explained.

She stared at the twitching machine as lab techs worked around it.

"Right. A networked intelligence with no network to connect to," she said. _All alone when you're used to sharing a consciousness with billions of other programs. I wonder if you're afraid, or lonely. I know I've been lonely a few times on my pilgrimage, out in the cold all alone when I'm used to being surrounded by other quarians._

She felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked to see the doctor's dark hand in contrast with her white suit.

"Come on, Vala. Let's get you to work." He guided her to an open terminal and explained what they accomplished so far. "We've been able to study its motor functions and framework so far, but its inner workings have remained untouched due in part to not wanting to damage the data or the geth program inside. It still has sophisticated defenses despite being otherwise unresponsive."

"So what exactly do you want me to do?" she asked. She looked over some of the files of experiments they'd conducted so far.

"Isn't it obvious? We want you to hack its anti-intrusion countermeasures, retrieve any information from its data storage, and extract the geth program so it can be deconstructed to its base code and studied."

Vala shivered at the coldness of that statement.

"But that would kill it!" She looked at the doctor, shocked at the suggestion.

The doctor shook his head and waved a hand in dismissal.

"It's one program. It probably isn't even sapient in this condition."

She placed her hands on her hips and glared at the doctor.

"How do you know?"

Doctor Malhotra sighed and looked at the floor.

"We don't. But how can we actually know if we don't study its code?"

She covered her face-plate with her hand and shook her head.

"I don't know about deconstructing it, Doctor Malhotra, but I'll at least try and get the information you want. We can discuss the geth intelligence further at a later time."

"Fine," an exasperated Doctor Malhotra said as he waved his hand. "Doctor T'Sora."

One of the techs turned and regarded them. Her bright blue face was the only thing visible in her lab outfit. It was covered in markings that looked like water drops streaming down her face. She was an inch or two shorter than Vala, which Vala wasn't used to here on Noveria.

"Please work with Vala on the geth," Doctor Malhotra told her. "She'll help us get the information from the machine." He turned and left, but she could hear the doctor muttering on his way out. "It's just a machine; I don't understand what he big deal is."

Before he walked out the door, the asari stepped in front of her, blocking her line of sight.

"I don't know why he thinks I need help," a frustrated Doctor T'Sora said to her. "I've been in this line of work for two hundred years, but if he feels you can do better, fine. He's the boss."

The derision in the doctor's tone made Vala wince and tug on the hood of her enviro-suit.

"I don't want to be a bother," Vala said, trying to be apologetic. _I'm just doing what I've been asked to do! _"I just want to finish my pilgrimage and go back to the flotilla."

"What!?" T'Sora cried, her eyes going so wide they looked like they could pop out of her skull. "You mean you aren't even considered an adult?"

The asari stormed away toward a bench and grabbed one of the notebooks and a pen. She stormed back, shoving the pad and pen at her and said, "C'mon! Let's get this farce over with so you can go back to scrounging for scraps in the snow, whelp!"

Tears rolled down Vala's flushed cheek while the asari humiliated her in front of everyone else in the room. Though she'd met some resistance in her time on Noveria, this was the first blatant hostility aimed right at her.

_I guess it was a matter of time before I finally met someone like this. _Her suit gathered the tears for recycling and she squared her shoulders and stood tall, trying to gather some of the confidence she had in her technical abilities. _Forget about what the bosh'tet said. Instead, make her eat her words._

* * *

"How … how did you do that?" Doctor T'Sora asked.

Vala could almost feel the asari gazing over her shoulder as she hacked through the geth's defenses, trying to prevent the systems from deleting any of the data stored within its drives. She smiled, satisfied by the change in the asari's tone from derision to excitement.

"My people created the geth, as you may recall," she explained. She cheered inwardly as another defense went down, made visible by the display on her omni-tool. "Sure, over the past three hundred years they've made improvements, but the base coding remains much the same."

_Just a little more, you bosh'tet. Just a little more and I'll have all your secrets._

Her heart raced as each defense fell before the specially made programs from her other omni-tool. All her concentration focused on the hardest hack she'd ever undertaken.

_Remember to ask the admiral who made these programs. They're brilliant and intuitive._

She hacked through two more firewalls and giggled.

"And the mighty empire of geth firewalls fell before the cunning of Vala's omni-tool, leaving the valuable information vulnerable and ripe for the taking!" she screamed, pumping her hand in the air as the last firewall fell.

She realized she said that out loud and looked around her. All the techs in the room stared at her and Doctor T'Sora smirked. She quickly lowered her arm and started downloading information to her omni-tool while her face flushed to what she imagined was a light red.

_Keelah! Way to make a fool of yourself, Vala._

Her embarrassment quickly faded, though, as she looked over the information that was being downloaded.

"Doctor T'Sora, are you people trying to play a trick on me?" she asked, confused by the information she was reading.

"What are you on about?" the doctor asked, once again peering over Vala's shoulder. She saw the doctor's reflection in the pocked metal of the geth platform in front of her. The doctor shared a similar look of confusion while she read the info on Vala's omni-tool. "A faction of geth that worships gods called Reapers? You're right, this looks like bullshit; but we haven't been able to get past the firewalls, so unless someone was able to substitute the information before we got to it, it's most likely legitimate. I don't imagine geth have a use for misinformation."

"One might say the same about their use for gods," Vala mumbled, storing the information away into her omni-tool once it was done downloading.

She looked at the geth, its head still twitching from side to side, not focusing on anything. She placed a hand on the chest of the restrained platform, sad at what she was about to do.

_I'm sorry. I didn't want to do this, but this information changes things. _She paused, the implications of what she was about to do sinking in. _But … this is murder, Vala. It's still a living thing. _She shook her head to try and shake the conflict._ But, it is just one program, not really intelligent or able to feel. _She sighed. _I need to know what makes you tick, because things appear to have changed significantly._

"What are you doing now, child?" Doctor T'Sora asked, derision returning to her voice after the initial excitement.

_What else do I have to do to get you to treat me better? I already did something you couldn't. Of course, maybe that didn't help._

"I've decided to download the geth consciousness inside and do as Doctor Malhotra asked," she explained, watching the data on her omni-tool as the geth was downloaded into a partitioned section. "You will have a deconstructed geth soon."

"Good," was all the asari said before she walked away to work on some part lying on a bench nearby.

_Bosh'tet. That goes for you too, Vala. I can't believe you're actually doing this._

The geth's head stopped twitching and the light went out once she finished the download. She saw the data in the partition. It even looked alive, the way the numbers and symbols moved about more fluidly than artificially. It also looked different, not like any of the admittedly outdated data they had on the flotilla.

_This doesn't even look like the type of progression we predicted the geth would take._

"Some of this doesn't even look like geth code," she said aloud, gaining the attention of Doctor T'Sora again.

"You're already done?" she asked, moving quickly to see what Vala was looking at.

"No, this is just from initial observation," she answered.

_This is … weird. Like nothing I've ever seen before._

"That's the geth?" Doctor T'Sora asked, looking over her shoulder for a third time.

_That's starting to get a little annoying,_ she thought, contemplating elbowing the rude asari in the gut.

"Apparently," Vala replied, trying hard to hide her annoyance. "I better get to work on this. Please excuse me."

She headed back to the lab as she heard Doctor T'Sora command the techs around the room.

"Take the platform down and start dismantling it for study."

She looked back as the motionless body was pulled down from the restraining device. Techs poured over it, machines whirring and sparks flying. She walked through the door into the small room where she could work on her omni-tool in peace. It hissed shut behind her, cutting her off from the noise, but she looked through a window and watched as a tech carried an arm over to one of the benches. It made her shiver.

_Why does this bother you so much? Like Doctor Malhotra said; it's just a machine._

She hesitated a moment, her fingers hovering over the interface of her omni-tool. A tear rolled down her cheek again.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "At least you can't feel pain, and won't feel lonely anymore."

She took a deep breath, calming herself, and started working on the omni-tool. Piece by piece the geth code was broken down and sorted by function.

* * *

It took Vala the better part of the day to deconstruct the complicated code that comprised the single geth program.

"Is it almost done yet, Vala?" Doctor T'Sora asked.

The asari scientist became friendlier as the day went on, apparently getting over whatever dislike she had for Vala at the beginning of the day.

_Kind of wish she'd go back to being mean,_ she thought as she felt the asari's graceful hand rest on her upper back.

"I hope so," she said, leaning forward in her chair hoping the asari would stop touching her. _Please stop. This is uncomfortable. _She didn't, however, instead crouching next to her chair and placing a hand on her leg. She stiffened at the touch and squirmed her leg away. _Maybe you should say that out loud._ "What are you doing, Doctor T'Sora?"

The doctor chuckled and sat on the bench in front of her.

"I'm sorry. In my four hundred years I've never met a quarian before. Wasn't sure how you'd react to that," the asari explained. "Sorry about earlier as well. My attitude toward you was tainted by everything I've heard about quarians. However, a day with you has certainly given me a more favorable view."

_I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing right now._

"I'm glad I've left a good impression of my people with you, Doctor T'Sora," Vala said, trying to keep the conversation from going somewhere she didn't want. "Oh, look! It's done! I better disseminate the data and make a copy for myself."

_She briefly forgot about the doctor as she looked over the code, smiling at what she saw._

"Admiral Xen should definitely accept me with this," she squeaked while clapping.

"Now that was absolutely adorable, that little clap," Doctor T'Sora cried.

Vala's elation disappeared, her mind racing trying to think of polite ways to get the asari to stop flirting with her.

"I … thank you … I guess," she stammered. "I should go see Doctor Malhotra now and start securing transport back to the flotilla."

She quickly stood up and walked to the door at a brisk pace. Doctor T'Sora intercepted her however, and she looked frustrated.

"Look, I'm sorry if I'm being too forward." Doctor T'Sora looked behind her to the door. "I … ummm … should be done down here once you've talked to Doctor Malhotra. I would like to help you pack and give you a ride back to Port Hanshan. Then … well … maybe we could have a drink together."

Vala was about to refuse but the asari grasped her hands and looked at her with her sparkling green eyes and a thin line of a hopeful smile creasing the blue skin of her face.

_I can't say no to that. Besides, I'll be leaving soon, there's no harm in sharing a drink with the asari. At least she should leave me alone after that._

"You're certainly persistent, Doctor T'Sora," she said. She let out an exasperated sigh.

"Fine, I suppose I can have a drink with you. It's not like I can leave Port Hanshan right away anyway. I'll have to wait a couple of days until my ride gets here."

_Why did you tell her that? Now she won't leave you alone!_

"Yes!" Doctor T'Sora cheered and linked an arm with one of Vala's and led her to the door. "I'll help you past the security checks and then meet you in a couple of hours in the garage. Oh, and please! Call me Celienne." The asari beamed as she led Vala back to the security station. "Oh, and some say persistence is one of my best qualities."

_Keelah! What have you gotten yourself into, Vala?_


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: The **_**Moreh**_

**Port Hanshan – Noveria – Two days later:**

Celienne led Vala through a small crowd of people gathered in the common area of Port Hanshan.

"Where are we going, Celienne?" Vala asked, trying to tug on Celienne's hand in the opposite direction. "Captain Morgan's waiting for me at the dock."

"We're going to the lounge for one last drink before you go," she answered.

She forced Celienne to stop and turned her about to look her in the eyes.

"I've enjoyed spending time with you the past couple of days. You've become one of the few friends I made on this trip. I have to go, though. The _Iliad_ is waiting for me."

Celienne responded by giving her a pouting look, sticking her lower lip out and tilting her head. Celienne's blue skin glistened in the lights of the common area.

_I guess I can see why some think they are pretty. The tentacle things on their heads are still weird though._

"Ugh! Fine. But we need to make it quick."

Celienne smiled again, bright white teeth shining in the light before she turned and continued to pull her through the crowd. Within moments they entered the lounge and Vala saw that they would not be alone for their drink. Both Li and Captain Morgan waited for them at a table with a long, black case leaning against the table. She let go of Celienne's hand and rushed to the table.

"I thought you two would be waiting for me at the dock," she said, hugging Captain Morgan, who remained seated while she did so.

"We decided that the four of us could have a drink before you go," Li said, his voice rumbling as he hugged her. "We also wanted to give you this." He gestured toward the case that leaned against the table. "Mark and I bought it for you."

She gasped and grabbed the case off the floor. She placed it on the table to the tune of Li and Captain Morgan chuckling. She worked the latches on the case while her eyes darted up and down the case excitedly. Her hands even shook a little as she opened the case, revealing the gift inside.

Tears streamed down her face as she gazed at the black enviro-suit that lay within. She ran a finger along the red hourglass shape that adorned the top of the hood.

"Oooo! I bet you'll look stunning in this," Celienne observed as she leaned over the case next to Vala. She smiled and typed something into her omni-tool, which Vala received a moment later.

"Do you want to change into it before you leave? I'll help," the message said.

Vala looked at the grinning Celienne and shook her head.

"For the last time: no. I'd get sick without a clean room to change into anyway." She sent the message and closed the case. Celienne pouted off to the side again, but Vala ignored the asari and hugged the two old men again. "Thank you so much, you two. You're both the best!" She sobbed as she let them go.

_I can't believe they did this! They've already done so much!_

A waitress approached the table and left a glass in front of her. Celienne ordered some Thessia Red from the waitress before she walked away. Vala stared at the glass with a straw in it for a moment before Li explained what it was.

"It's some turian whiskey, Vala. Don't worry; it's dextro and triple filtered, not that you should worry about germs living in the alcohol."

She chuckled. "Thanks, Li. I was out of the quarian rum I came with anyway." She dipped the drinking end of the straw in the alcohol to sterilize it and then took a sip by introducing the straw through her helmet. "Mmmm. It's very sweet."

"I knew you'd like it, Vala," Li said as he leaned the case against the wall behind him.

Celienne sat down at the table and received her drink from the waitress. They all sat and talked for a couple of hours. She told them about her entire experience on Noveria, from her time out in the cold, the weird, giant bug attack, and working at Synthetic Insights, though she had to keep some details out, which Celienne reminded her to do with a kick under the table. When they finished their drinks, Li grabbed the case and they left the lounge, heading for the docking area where the _Iliad_ waited. Celienne grabbed her hand, making her sigh. She was used to it after the last couple of days, so she let Celienne hold her hand and lean against her as they followed Captain Morgan to the dock.

_It's hard to believe this same asari was ready to throw me out of her lab when we first met._

They reached the elevator, which was cramped with the four of them in there. Celienne didn't seem to mind though, molding herself to Vala. Li shook his head at the sight and Captain Morgan's shoulders shook as he chuckled. She could see his smile in the reflection of the elevator's glass surfaces. She opened her omni-tool and sent the asari a message.

"Is this really necessary? You know I'm not interested in you that way."

She looked at Celienne who pouted and typed a reply into her omni-tool.

"I know, but let me have my fun while you're still here. For all I know I'll never see you again."

She smiled at Vala who sighed.

_She's incorrigible! _

"Fine," she typed back. "I have to ask though, why do you like me so much? I can't be physically intimate thanks to my weak immune system."

Celienne wrapped Vala's arms around her and rested her head in the nape of Vala's neck.

_Kinda weird being on this side of things. Always imagined myself doing what she is._

She received a message back.

"Cause you're smart. I love that. And … you're different. A mystery. It's too bad you don't feel the same, though."

The elevator finally stopped and Vala pulled her arms away from Celienne, who grabbed her hand for a last time and they followed the two men out of the elevator. They walked up to the docking ramp and she let go of Celienne's hand. She hugged Li and accepted the case from him so she could carry it onto the ship. Captain Morgan didn't wait for her, heading into the ship the moment they got there. The second she let go of Li she was spun around and Celienne planted a kiss on her visor.

_Great. Now I've got a smear on my face-plate! I'll wipe it off later once I'm on the ship. Don't want to be rude._

"Make sure you write me every once in a while," Celienne said, a tear streaking down her cheek.

_Is she really crying?_

"Don't forget about me," Li said. "Though, I would prefer the content of my messages to be less mushy if you please."

"Shut up, you bosh'tet!" she playfully yelled, punching the old turian in the arm. He knew how she felt about this whole thing with Celienne and found plenty of moments to tease

her about it when he could.

"I'll miss both of you," she said. "Even you, Celienne." Even though all the flirting weirded her out a little, she'd still miss the pretty, little blue scientist. "Stay safe. Who knows, I may come back some day to visit." She knew the odds of that were slim, but it felt good to say it anyway.

"You too, Vala," Li said in farewell.

Celienne just nodded as more tears streaked down her face. Vala felt tears streak down her own cheeks as she waved to them while she walked up the docking ramp and entered the airlock. The door closed, leaving her alone in the room. She put the case down and tried to calm down. It didn't work when she thought about having to do it again with Captain Morgan, who generously offered to take her all the way back to the flotilla. Once the airlock equalized the air pressure with the inside, the inner door opened, letting her into the ship where the captain waited.

"Are you ready to go?" the giant, bearded man asked her.

She almost started sobbing when he asked. She nodded "Yeah, I think it's time to go home," she said through quiet sobs.

* * *

After about a day of traveling they made it to the flotilla.

_Goes a lot quicker without needing to make stops at colonies,_ she mused while she waited in front of the air lock.

She heard the heavy footsteps of the captain as he walked up behind her. She'd already said goodbye to the other crewmembers, so the captain was the only one left. He put one of his long arms around her shoulder and she leaned against his chest.

"Thanks for all your help, Captain Morgan," she sobbed. She tried hard not to, but tears ran down her cheeks once again, but were quickly recycled by her suit.

"It's been my pleasure, kiddo," his deep voice rumbled.

The word "kiddo" made her giggle.

_Kiddo is a much better word than child. Sounds less condescending._

"For obvious reasons, I can't go with you out there. So, I guess this is goodbye."

She sniffled. "Yeah, I know." She stopped leaning against the captain and faced him. "I'll make sure I message you as well, like I promised Li and Celienne."

The large man chuckled. "Sounds like you'll have plenty of messaging to do, especially when it comes to that asari."

"Ugh! Don't remind me!" _Crazy asari bosh'tet!_

Her outburst made him laugh all the louder. He hugged her one more time and handed her the black case. She waved at him as he headed back to the bridge. The airlock opened and she stepped into it, waiting once again for the airlock to equalize the pressure with the outside. Once it opened she stepped into a tunnel that would lead her into the _Moreh_. The tunnel was dimly lit and she watched her step, not wanting to stumble and fall, especially with the added weight of the new suit she carried. She walked through a door at the end into a small decontamination room. Once the room finished, the next door opened into a small, empty room with no adornments.

_This is very different from the _Tikkun_. There's no color and barely any … people._

"Vala! We've missed you!" her mother cried. Her family was among the few people there, waiting to welcome her back from her pilgrimage, as well as Admiral Xen, who waited nearby.

Her family embraced her in a big group hug, welcoming her back. She peered out from between the hooded heads that surrounded her to see Admiral Xen impatiently tapping her feet waiting for the "sentimentality," as she called it, to end.

"So, tell us about your pilgrimage, Vala," Kara requested.

"I will, but first I should finish my pilgrimage, right?" She nodded her head toward the waiting admiral.

Her family nodded and let her pass so she could approach the admiral.

"Hello, Vala," The admiral greeted her. "Welcome back. Was your pilgrimage a success?"

_Straight to the point. That's Admiral Xen all right. No ceremony or anything._

"I think so," she said as she pulled a couple of small data drives and handed them to the admiral. "This one is filled with some odd data I pulled from a geth platform, and the second drive has the decompiled code of an actual geth."

The admiral held out her hand and Vala handed her the two data drives..

"Give me a moment," Admiral Xen said as she inserted the second data drive into a data-pad.

Vala could see the lights of the admiral's eyes widen as she looked at the code displayed on her screen. After a few minutes of scrolling through the data, and checking the other disc for its contents, Admiral Xen finally addressed her while her family waited silently behind them.

"Welcome to my ship, Vala'Sun vas Moreh. Talk to one of my assistants and they'll assign you living quarters, a work space, and a different enviro-suit." The admiral glanced over her white enviro-suit. Vala knew it showed some wear from her pilgrimage, including a couple of ripped pockets that happened during her flight from the big bugs. "Unless, of course, you want to keep wearing that thing."

"Um, no. Actually, I have a new enviro-suit." She looked back at the black case that sat on the floor near her family. "Some friends gave it to me."

"Well, aren't you fortunate," Admiral Xen said, coldly. It made Vala shiver a little. "It's not very often someone fresh off their pilgrimage gets a brand new enviro-suit." She started to walk away but Vala stopped her with a question.

"Admiral! Wait! Who made this omni-tool you made me so I can thank them as well? It was very useful in getting that data you are holding."

The admiral looked at her, tapping her finger on the data-pad she held, before she answered.

"I did. It used to be mine." Admiral Xen left the room, not waiting for Vala to respond. "You'll find the clean room at the end of this hall," she called back before the door closed.

She stared at the door until her brother grabbed her from behind and lifted her off the floor, making her yelp.

"Tell us about your pilgrimage now," he said, putting her down so she could address the rest of her family.

She smiled, looking at each of her family members, each of their suits providing the only color in the bland room.

_I missed all of you so much._

"Alright," she said, starting her story. "It all started on Elysium where I met this giant human named Captain Morgan …"


End file.
